County Council chief says no to outside takeover of animal shelter

A request for an outside takeover of King County's animal shelters seems like an overreaction to the criticism of the county animal-care agency, the chairwoman of the County Council said Thursday.

Instead, Chairwoman Julia Patterson, D-SeaTac, said council members will meet next week with County Executive Ron Sims or his staff to figure out how to solve the problems at the shelters.

Dogs and cats at the county's Kent animal shelter were locked in filthy cages without food or water for a day or more, a consultant hired by the council said in a preliminary presentation Monday. He also cited problems with adoption policies, record keeping and shelter management.

Sims denied Tuesday that animals were left unfed and without water and he defended the staff of the animal-control agency, which is part of the executive branch of government that Sims heads.

In September, a citizens advisory committee appointed by the council harshly criticized the agency and termed conditions at the shelters "deplorable." The request Thursday for the council to appoint an outside receiver to supervise the agency came in a letter signed by several members of the committee as well as by other animal-welfare advocates and shelter volunteers.

The request was prompted by a concern for the well-being of the animals impounded at the shelters, said Claire Davis, a committee member who heads a local anti-euthanasia group and who was the lead signer of the letter.

The signers are dismayed not only by the consultant's findings, but also by Sims' "offhand dismissal" of them, the letter says.

But the consultant, Nathan Winograd, is not a neutral observer but a strict anti-euthanasia advocate who seeks to stir up public sentiment for his point of view, a Sims spokeswoman said Thursday.

"We're being painted as bad guys when we're not," she said.

Annual euthanizations by the county have declined from 13,000 animals to 4,000 in recent years, Sims has said.

Patterson said the council hopes to develop an improvement plan with Sims that can be presented to the public at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 14 at the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St., Burien.

Winograd's full report is expected to be delivered to the council Friday.

King County provides animal-control services for most suburban cities and in unincorporated areas, and operates shelters in Kent and Bellevue. Seattle operates its own animal-control agency.